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Poll > Canned Tuna, How Many Cans Is Too Many?
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May 13 2022 04:17pm
Like many others who seek a convenient means of diversifying their protein/fat intake with fish, I find myself consuming an average of 10-15 cans of tuna per week. This is in addition to a variety of other protein/fat sources in order to reach what I consider adequate amounts for my dietary needs.

For the longest time I've heard about too high of mercury levels being a concern when consuming a lot of certain types of fish - to include tuna. For months I was eating entirely white albacore but after reading a few articles, decided that chunk light might be a safer option. The FDA recommends consuming less than 12 ounces per week of chunk white and less than 4 ounces of albacore.

Seemed like a definitive answer, however, during the course of my looking into this topic, I found some sources saying the FDA recommendation is basically nonsense and those mercury levels are not cause for concern. The reason for this is associated with high levels of selenium naturally occurring within the fish that essentially sequesters the mercury and renders it harmless.

Apparently you would be hard pressed to find any documented cases of mercury poisoning as a direct result of eating too many cans of tuna. The only noteworthy example I was able to find was from 1956, in which copius amounts of chronic methyl mercury had been released into a bay for years and years, subjecting the fish to far more than what naturally occurs in our oceans, lakes, and rivers. The results were not pretty for people who consumed those fish.

Curious to see what our health and fitness enthusiasts believe. Is there an optimal amount of canned tuna that people should/should not be consuming?
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May 13 2022 04:56pm
1-3 imo
Everybody reacts differently tho, maybe some people are more tolerant to it
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May 14 2022 03:14am
mercury is not a threat... gluten tho!
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May 14 2022 01:56pm
on the real if youre american you eat PFAS high fructose corn syrup aluminum cans fluoride lead and thimerosol
whats the harm from tuna compared to all the poisons we already regularly consume
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May 15 2022 01:45pm
http://net-effects.und.edu/pdfs/Selenium-Mercury.pdf

Read this.

TL;DR:
Tuna contains mercury but also contains selenium. Mercury binds to selenium, therefore counteracting the toxicity of mercury. However, this in turn makes selenium-related protein synthesis more difficult.

This means:
1. Don't worry about mercury toxicity.
2. Instead worry about taking a selenium supplement if you intend to eat a lot of tuna cans on a regular basis.

This post was edited by CMBurns on May 15 2022 01:46pm
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May 16 2022 12:55am
Quote (CMBurns @ 15 May 2022 13:45)
http://net-effects.und.edu/pdfs/Selenium-Mercury.pdf

Read this.

TL;DR:
Tuna contains mercury but also contains selenium. Mercury binds to selenium, therefore counteracting the toxicity of mercury. However, this in turn makes selenium-related protein synthesis more difficult.

This means:
1. Don't worry about mercury toxicity.
2. Instead worry about taking a selenium supplement if you intend to eat a lot of tuna cans on a regular basis.


For some reason my phone is failing to open that pdf, but I believe it is exactly what I read a few days ago... Regardless, what you're saying falls directly in line with what I had read previously, however adding in selenium supplements may not be the best move. Upon further reading, selenium (which I admit I've never really looked into before) is found in many foods that can be considered commonly consumed by health-conscious people, and too much of it presents a range of other potential health issues.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the effect that selenium has on trace amounts of mercury renders the element safe for human consumption, particularly because the selenium is naturally occurring within the biology of the fish. I am not sure that selenium from outside sources would have the same effect and even if it did, the threshold is apparently pretty easy to overshoot with a "healthy" diet that consists of more calories than a prepubescent child consumes.

Dunno, guess I'll just carry on with what I'm already doing and if I start showing signs of someone undergoing chemotherapy, I'll know its time to quit the cans.
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May 16 2022 02:22am
Quote (Decarnate @ 16 May 2022 02:55)
For some reason my phone is failing to open that pdf, but I believe it is exactly what I read a few days ago... Regardless, what you're saying falls directly in line with what I had read previously, however adding in selenium supplements may not be the best move. Upon further reading, selenium (which I admit I've never really looked into before) is found in many foods that can be considered commonly consumed by health-conscious people, and too much of it presents a range of other potential health issues.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the effect that selenium has on trace amounts of mercury renders the element safe for human consumption, particularly because the selenium is naturally occurring within the biology of the fish. I am not sure that selenium from outside sources would have the same effect and even if it did, the threshold is apparently pretty easy to overshoot with a "healthy" diet that consists of more calories than a prepubescent child consumes.

Dunno, guess I'll just carry on with what I'm already doing and if I start showing signs of someone undergoing chemotherapy, I'll know its time to quit the cans.


The supplements are exclusively if you're specifically eating a lot of ocean food.

Otherwise it's unnecessary.
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May 16 2022 06:43am
Quote (CMBurns @ 16 May 2022 02:22)
The supplements are exclusively if you're specifically eating a lot of ocean food.

Otherwise it's unnecessary.


I'm not really sure what would constitute a lot of ocean food. Canned tuna is less than 10% of my daily intake of calories (eaten 4-5 days per week). Also iirc mercury is only cause for concern with regard to a specific group of ocean foods.

Appreciate the feedback.
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May 18 2022 03:24pm
depends if it's bred or caught.

if it's bred, one per day should be fine.
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May 29 2022 10:27am
Quote (Decarnate @ May 16 2022 07:43am)
I'm not really sure what would constitute a lot of ocean food. Canned tuna is less than 10% of my daily intake of calories (eaten 4-5 days per week). Also iirc mercury is only cause for concern with regard to a specific group of ocean foods.

Appreciate the feedback.



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